Alcohol Bill To Be 'Debated' In The Dáil Today

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is due to be 'debated' in the Dáil today (6 February).

According to a recent statement issued by the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) Irish drinks manufacturers have today hit out at the ‘disproportionate’ and ‘ineffective’ measures the Government is planning to introduce as part of the Bill.

ABFI said that the drinks industry in Ireland expressed its concern about the unintended negative consequences of the advertising and labelling measures being proposed, which it says will create an anti-business environment that will deter innovation, growth and investment, and won’t achieve the public policy objective.

The group said that it is calling on the Government to 'balance the bill'.

“While we fully support measures to target alcohol misuse and underage drinking, it is critically important that measures are targeted and based on evidence. This is not the case at the moment." Patricia Callan, director of (ABFI) said.

Meanwhile, the drinks industry said 'Minister Harris has not meaningfully engaged with or even met with drinks manufacturers about the legislation'.

Warning Labels

Commenting on the proposed introduction of cancer warning labels on alcohol products, she said: “We are looking for the Government to remove the cancer warning labels from the Bill. No other country in the world has mandatory cancer labels on alcohol products and we believe that such a measure applies a stigma to products produced in Ireland.

“It gives a clear advantage to our competitors abroad, who are not required to carry such labels.”